


As I May

by Rick_KTish



Series: Rick's Linked Universe things [1]
Category: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Ableism, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Autistic Character, But he doesn't know how, Gen, Plural, Protective Links, Repression, Stimming, The Hero's Spirit is Autistic, Twi has issues, Twilight (Linked Universe) Needs a Hug, Twilight needs a hug, Twilight needs to stim, autistic characters, but only toward himself, inspired by a convo on the Discord, internalized ableism, it's a party guys, kind of, periodically, quiet hands, they just want him to be happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:35:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23207083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rick_KTish/pseuds/Rick_KTish
Summary: Twi has never had a problem with the other heroes' odd behaviors. Sure, Time has a tendency to repeat the word "milk" when he's stressed, and Wild usually stares people straight in the eye for way too long, and Legend tends to get destructive when he's feeling crowded, and Four's pica only seems to get worse every time they take whatever metal thing he's absently put in his mouth out again, but that's just them. It's how they are, and there's nothing wrong with that.He fails to connect this with the fidgeting he habitually quiets in himself, allowing the tension to build rather than easing it.Fortunately, the other Links are on the watch for ways to help him remember how to self-soothe when he needs to.Even if it's turning out to be more of a stealth mission than they expected.
Relationships: Four & Twilight (Linked Universe), Hyrule & Twilight (Linked Universe), Legend & Twilight (Linked Universe), Link (The Legend of Zelda) & Ordon Village, Sky & Twilight (Linked Universe), Time & Twilight (Linked Universe), Twilight & Warriors (Linked Universe), Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe), Twilight & Wind (Linked Universe), Twilight (Linked Universe) & The People of Ordon
Series: Rick's Linked Universe things [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1668484
Comments: 74
Kudos: 393





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Projecting? I'm not projecting, you're projecting. 
> 
> I mean, the events of the first chapter may or may not be a recreation of an experience in my childhood when my mom was testing to get her HAM radio license and I had to wait in the lobby with the other kids. And several of the other comments may or may not be things that were said to me by my peers when I was younger. And Twilight's stims may or may not be things that I myself have recently been actively teaching myself NOT to stop myself from doing when I need to in order to relieve anxiety and restlessness.
> 
> I mean, anything is possible. Some are even probable, but that doesn't mean you have any proof.
> 
> This was inspired by a conversation on the Linked Universe Discord in the general headcanons 2 chat, where someone proposed the idea that Four and Time were autistic and I followed it up with the big brain moment that the Hero's Spirit is autistic. Many great things came from it, including Time vocal-stimming the word "Milk," which I will be using in every possible case from now on, but I was feeling a distinct lack of love for my favorite backstoryless boi, Twilight. Also the only reason I brought it up after everyone had moved on to another topic already was because I was having a really bad sensory day, and i kind of ended up leaking projection and angst in the chat... so i decided to move it into a fic.

He doesn’t remember being told that he was  _ wrong _ , per se, but he does distinctly recall the day he decided it wasn’t worth it to try to act on what seemed most comfortable. 

He was perhaps around nine or ten years of age, and the other children in town were smaller, and more excitable, and oh so eager to play with him. But it just got to be  _ too much, _ they were too loud, too mean, too rough with each other and him, and he was filled with the desire to hide. And so he did; under Sera’s table. 

At Rusl and Uli’s house, that would have been enough for them to quiet down and leave him alone a little while to get his head sorted out. But here, while Sera was in charge, that didn’t seem to hold true. The kids made a game of poking and prodding him, seeing who could see him best from between the chair legs, and making him whine softly. When it grew to be too much— his sanctuary become more of a cage than any kind of retreat at all— he fled from under the table and tried to hide behind Sera, angry, frightened tears slipping quietly down his face the whole while. When she inquired what was the matter and he tried to explain, she merely shrugged.

“You’re making a spectacle of yourself, dear. As long as you try to hide from them, they’ll want to make you come out. Better just to go along with them in the first place if you want them to leave you alone, don’t you think?”

Rusl and Uli were concerned when he came home that night silent and distressed, but he couldn’t explain to them. They would want to correct Sera, and that would just be embarrassing for everyone involved. 

He stopped hiding under the table after that.

There are other instances, less defined, less memorable, but no less permanent in their effect upon him. He can vaguely recall Pergie telling him off for snapping his fingers so often; the noise is distracting, he shouldn’t do that. Sera informing him that it’s rude to rock or pace or fidget when someone is trying to talk to you, and you’re such a good boy, you wouldn’t want to be rude, would you? Illia telling him that his humming is odd, Jaggle telling him to stop copying everything he says, Beth asking him why kept clearing his throat, Talo demanding to know if rubbing the corners of his clothes made him fight better, and on they go. He adds each new rule or comment to a list in his mind of things that he should and should not do around others. 

He hardly notices when he stops doing those things when he's alone, either.

In fact, by the time his adventure begins, he almost never gets comments anymore. Midna certainly never mentions anything out of the ordinary, though perhaps people in the Twilight realm have different standards from people in Hyrule, so he’s not sure she should count. At the very least she never seems to get  _ more _ impatient with him when he has to pause to bite and shake and whimper at the sheer  _ overwhelm  _ of his task, whichever form he happens to be in, and Zelda shows no reaction when he delivers Midna to her nearly dead and he spends the time that she’s healing the imp rocking and gnawing on his own forepaw. She merely pauses briefly after Midna is healed to wrap the place where he’s chewed hard enough to threaten blood and says nothing about it. And by the time his adventure is over, he has enough experience being around other people to know that he can almost always push off a breakdown attack until he’s alone, and that he can keep the twitching, the fidgeting and snapping and flicking and tapping off almost indefinitely. 

It only begins to fall apart when he gets dragged into his next adventure and is suddenly surrounded all the time by the other Links.


	2. Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time uses Offer to Listen!  
> It's not very effective...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW this got more of a response than I expected! I'm so glad that people can see themselves in what I'm writing, though I hope I'm not raising your expectations too high... this is going to be more along the lines of several connected one-shots than a fully fleshed out story. None of the chapters is longer than 1200 words as yet, though I don't know yet how long Hyrule's chapter is going to turn out... we'll have to see where it goes.
> 
> I was planning to space the chapters out by a full week, but then this fic got put on the fic recs channel on the Discord and i just about died. I honestly never thought i'd see anything i'd written on there, I just- I have no words, I feel so honored that so many people have left kudos and commented. I think moving up my post date for this chapter is about all I can do to express my gratitude, and it doesn't feel like nearly enough. You guys make my day. 
> 
> I hope this chapter is as enjoyable to read as it was to write- I certainly got some good catharsis out of it.
> 
> Still unbeta'd, unless you count my brother glancing through it and telling me he wants to replay all these games to refamiliarize himself with the Links' stories, but I think I got the most glaring errors, so have at!

It is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Time who first notices. 

They’re in Four’s Hyrule, with its bustling towns and crowded roads between, and Twilight’s been a little twitchy all day. Sounds have been too loud, scents too strong, and the conversation has been moving so rapidly between the lot of them that Twi can barely keep up, let alone contribute. Perhaps it would feel normal any other day, but today he feels slow, and stupid, and tired of all the noises and smells and lights and feelings _pressing in on him_ , and he’s grateful for the respite of evening. 

He volunteers for first watch, seeing as he won’t be able to sleep over the sounds of all the others _breathing_ all night anyway, and he needs some time on his own that would be hard to get otherwise as they’re all travelling together. He honestly figures he can just take second watch as well, and if all goes well, he’ll hopefully be tired out enough at that point that he can sleep and his brain can reset itself to perceiving the proper volume of his senses.

He doesn’t account for Time taking second watch in this plan, which is... well, terribly like him, come to think of it, but mostly very unfortunate. Because Time comes over just as his senses are retreating, and he’s starting to feel deaf compared to the hypervigilance of before, which means he actually surprises him.

“Still on watch, Pup? Isn’t it my turn yet?”

Twi jumps guiltily, swiftly pulling his fingers from where he’s been quietly tugging at his hair to ground himself.

“A-ah, I just thought I might let you sleep a bit longer,” he invents, “since it’s such a nice night. I don’t mind staying up a little long.”

Time nods slowly, accepting the excuse and knowing it for what it is, but doesn’t call Twi on it. He just sits down beside him and looks up at the stars in the middle distance where Twi had been staring. “It is a nice night,” he agrees, and actually, now that he can hear more than the breathing of the others in their party and the yelling inside his own head, Twi finds that he agrees. There’s something warm and living in the night air, a sweet wind that adds just a touch of chill to this part of the land’s normal humidity. It’s very comfortable, and they’re far enough between towns for once that the sky is clear of light from lamps and watchtowers and the stars are bright and twinkling. It’s a rare treat in a Hyrule as populous as Four’s.

The last bit of tension seems to leave his shoulders, replaced now by an uncomfortable ache from being so tense all day. Twi just sighs and hopes it sounds like contentment with the scenery rather than mental exhaustion.

Time waits a beat before asking, “Do you want to tell me about it?”

The tension returns. 

“It’s nothing,” Twi tries. 

Time doesn’t even bother giving him a look, just quietly exudes _doubt._

“Really,” Twi insists. 

This time there’s a look.

Twi resigns himself, and submits. “I just get a little... overwhelmed sometimes. It’s not a big thing, I can deal just fine. It’s just... tiring.”

Time frowns. “Overwhelmed?”

Twi’s fingers are itching to flick, to snap, to tap at something, but he clenches them instead, pressing outward against his thumbs in an effort to make the urge go away. It rarely does, but he can always hope. “It’s.... Sometimes things get... loud. I guess.”

Time is shifting to look at him more fully and goddess-dammit, he _knew_ this would happen, would make him sound weird, so he jumps to excuse it: “I think it’s cause of the Wolf, you know? Heightened senses? Maybe they sometimes... leak a bit. Into this form.”

It’s convenient that it’s Time, who knows about Wolfie and does _not_ know that this has been happening since long before he was transformed. It’s convenient that it’s not one of the others, for whom he would have to craft another excuse, one so much flimsier and more transparent.

Then again, this is Time, who it seems can see clearly through the best of Twi’s lies.

“Is that your main theory?”

Twi tries not to think about his face going numb as he pales slightly. It’s a good thing it’s night. Time _might_ not notice. “I mean, I don’t really know for sure,” he hedges, and prays that they can leave it there. He catches himself starting to rock, and stops. Sera said it makes him look like he’s not paying attention to whoever he’s speaking to. That’s rude. His hands still want to make noise, but that’s rude too. He leans back on them to quiet the urge some more.

Someone must be listening, because Time merely hums and leans back as well. Maybe it’s Hylia; she and Time do seem to have some sort of grudge match going. Or perhaps Farore is whispering to her favorite incarnation to have mercy on him, or perhaps it’s even Time himself who has decided to let the matter rest for the moment. Regardless, he’s thankful. 

They sit in silence a while longer, Twi still tense, but refusing to let Time’s patience win. Time is waiting for him to say more, but will not press him, which means Twi doesn’t _have_ to say anything at all.

At last, Time sighs. 

“Go to bed, Pup. Get some rest.”

Twi resigns himself, bids his mentor good night, and goes to bed, hoping his senses will have reset themselves come morning. If he’s lucky, he’ll never have to discuss this again.

_ Yeah, and maybe this whole quest will resolve itself without us having to do anything at all. _

He doesn’t sleep well that night.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time is a good listener. Twi is not ready to be pushed, but he's leaving the offer out there and trying to make sure Twi's needs are getting met in the mean time. Sometimes it takes a while for someone to be willing to talk about things that are hard for them, and sometimes it can take even longer for them to figure out how to articulate their experience well enough to have it be understood. Sometimes the best thing we can do for someone is to show them that our offer stands and then wait for them to be ready to take us up on it.
> 
> Thank you for reading :)


	3. Warriors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warriors is a leader by example.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one, since i'm less familiar with Wars than many of the others. He strikes me as a little arrogant, but largely just very confident, very soldier-y and knightish.

Warriors, of all their group, is the one to approach him next with the subject. Twi will readily admit to not having expected that one; of all of them, he had assumed the Captain would be the easiest to hide his tendencies from. 

It’s also kind of frustrating, because he’s trying  _ not  _ to show how much he wants to roll down the hill they’re resting on with Wild and Wind. He already had a good roll earlier as Wolfie, but wolf sensations are  _ different _ from human ones, and he’s trying not to give in to the urge to just curl up and bask in the warm grass. 

Warriors is actively  _ Not Helping _ with this effort.

“Ah, grass on a hot day! Nothing better, eh?”

Twi grunts distractedly. He isn’t even sure why Warriors is talking to him. He’d seemed content to trail along, humming happily to himself and thunking his sheathed sword against his shoulder as they’d gone, evidently only until he caught sight of Twi eyeing the grass. Apparently, leaving Twi to his fragile peace was never an option.

The Captain is still talking. 

“Perfectly warm when you lay on it, but never too hot if it’s green, since the water inside keeps it cool.” He sighs, tauntingly contented at the mere thought of it. “No better thing indeed.”

And then he  _ drops. _

Twi is stunned, automatically reaching out to try to catch him; he’s rarely seen the Captain sit outside of meals, let alone collapse like this. He’s a  _ soldier, _ for the spirits’ sake! He does drills and stands attention and  _ does not buckle to the ground like a newborn kid! _

Twi nearly has a heart attack, but the younger man seems to be just fine, merely stretching out spread-eagle across that tantalizing turf and sighing peacefully.

Twi holds out a full two minutes before following Warriors’ lead. After all, if he’s not the only one doing it, it can’t be  _ that _ weird, right? 

They lay there together, breathing in the fresh scent of the grass and listening to the others’ laughter and calls to one another, and Twi makes it nearly a full five minutes before he gives in and rolls face down to better smell the earth. He tries to remain alert; this is exactly the kind of scenario that would find him humming oddly back in Ordon and getting disappointed looks from Ilia and Sera and Pergie, and he doesn’t want that here. But he’s really only aware enough to notice another body traipsing toward them and thudding down gently beside them, following their example. He turns his head enough to glance to the side and finds Sky nuzzling his face into the grass and grinning. Sky likes smells, Twi remembers, and finds himself agreeing with the sentiment. 

It’s nice to have an excuse to nuzzle his face into the grass and fold his arms to disguise his gentle brushing of the grass against his fingers beneath his folded arms for once instead of merely looking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's also perceptive enough to know that Twi isn't going to give in to his instincts all alone, so someone better set the example. also he likes fresh grass, it makes him think of the satisfaction of getting to collapse after long hours in the training grounds.   
> Sometimes what someone needs is to not be alone in doing something that might make them stand out or perceive themself as doing so. Sometimes the best thing to do is to join right on in-- or even begin, if they're feeling too shy to do so themself.


	4. Wild

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wild WILD appears! It uses BLUNT FORCE TACTICS! It's super effective!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, my wild child. A personal fave, I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out. Also my longest chapter thus far on this fic, so... we'll see if it remains such. (it's not unlikely.)

Wild is doing something. Or planning something, but honestly, his actions seem so randomly placed that Twi is inclined to believe it’s not actually organized. 

It starts simply enough, with a rather tired Twi trying not to fidget as usual, when Wild suddenly walks up to him and shoves  _ something _ in his mouth. He thinks it might be plants of some kind, cooked and seasoned and probably on a stick. 

He’s surprised enough that his hands start flicking before he catches them again, but once he gains control of himself he merely raises an eyebrow at his protege. It tastes good, of course—  _ Wild _ cooked it, after all, and he has learned to only share his edible creations— but Twi is entirely uncertain what the point is. 

Wild just raises his eyebrows back in total innocence. 

Twi sighs and starts working his way through the row of assorted vegetables and fruit on the stick, because apparently Wild is in need of a culinary guinea pig for the moment. It really is good, especially the pumpkin. 

“What are you specifically looking for?” Twi asks, contemplating a piece of apple on the sampling stick as Wild stares almost unblinking at him.

“Textures.”

Twi is startled. He didn’t realize any of the other Links noticed the feel of foods. Sure, Rusl and Uli believe him, and Colin even agrees on several points, but the one time he tried to explain to Pergie she told him an onion was an onion, no matter how long it was cooked. At that point he started trying his level best to ignore the difference between good and bad feelings of the food he ate, worried that his pickiness was causing problems.

But if Wild was asking anyway...

“The pumpkin is perfect. I guess the apple is a bit soft... the mushroom is good?”

Wild stares into his eyes for an uncomfortably long time before nodding and wandering off. Twi watches him go, slightly baffled but also not terribly surprised; Wild tends to be this way. All that time alone left him with no reason to hold back his odd behaviors, and Twi isn’t about to correct him. Goddesses know he’s not one to judge.

Twi moves on, knowing Wild will either get what he wants out of this new set of experiences or he won’t. He’s the subject of several more barrages of texture-tests, and though Wild occasionally catches one of the others, he’s the one most willing to go with it, so it’s really his own fault for encouraging, but he doesn’t mind. After a couple of false starts when he tries to hold back his reaction to a thing and gets smacked for his efforts at politeness, he submits willingly and honestly to the barrage of culinary experiments, casting yea or nay and even coming to enjoy it on occasion. Kebab or cake, stewed or roasted, it  _ is _ generally pretty tasty, after all. 

He doesn’t really think anything of it until another bad day comes along. It’s not quite as severe as the one when Time cornered him, but he’s been having a tough time blocking out the multitudinous sounds of the animals and people they’ve been passing on the road, and he’s approaching mental exhaustion. Wild gets a look on his face like he’s performing a sacred task and banishes them all to scout the area while he cooks. 

“It’s a surprise,” he insists, and Twi isn’t going to complain; a moment away from the others as he takes his own direction out will be more than welcome. 

When he gets back to where they’ve set up camp— the last of them to return,  _ oops—  _ he’s surprised by Wild rushing to meet him and herding him sternly over to a seat by the fire. 

“What—” he tries to ask, but Wild only hushes him. He looks around for an explanation, but the others seem to be either occupied or as baffled as him. 

Wild fusses with the pot for a moment, and an inkling occurs to Twi, but before he can pursue it Wild is already there with a bowl of Yeto’s special soup. He presses it into Twi’s hands and gives him a brief look, something anxious and hopeful and shy all at once, before rushing to serve the others.

Twi stills a moment, stunned. Is this— did Wild notice he was tired? Make this for  _ him? _

The smell of the soup hits him, and he feels his eyes sting slightly. This is  _ exactly _ what he needed; he can already feel the tension leaving his neck. He closes his eyes as he sips, and finds himself astonished at Wild’s skill. Certainly, the ancient teen can be a little odd in his own tastes, often barely giving a thought to what he puts in his own mouth, but when he tries, he can do incredible things, things like recreate a soup he’s only made once  _ perfectly _ . 

Opening his eyes, he meets Wild’s gaze from where he’s finally ladelling himself up a bowl and smiles. Wild gives him a bright grin in return. 

Conversation stays low for the rest of the evening. Tonight they are all rather tired; they’ve been pushing themselves to get to their next location. Twi is grateful. The smell and taste of the soup seem to help his brain sort through his senses again and pull some of the strain out of his ears, and that combined with the calm wrapping around the group helps him to relax. He doesn’t have watch tonight, so he’ll be getting a full night of rest as well.

As they all finish eating and start wandering one by one over to a nearby stream to rinse their bowls, Twi strolls over to where Wild is packing away the remaining soup in bottles and ruffles his protege’s hair. Wild looks up at him.

“Did I get it right?”

Twi smiles. “You got it  _ perfect. _ ”

There’s a proud gleam to Wild’s eyes as he goes to return to his task, but Twi isn’t finished. 

“Hey,” he says, and Wild looks up again. Looking Wild in the eye, Twi says as sincerely as he can, “Thanks. I really needed that tonight.”

Wild’s gaze becomes soft, and Twi fights down his embarrassment at confessing his difficulty so weakly. It’s an effort, but he successfully replaces it with gratitude as Wild merely gives a slightly wry nod toward the others. 

“I think we all did.” 

He’s not wrong. Still... “You did good.”

The pride is back as Wild grins at him briefly and finishes scooping the last of the soup into one last bottle. 

“Here, let me clean that,” Twi offers, and Wild accepts. As he hauls the cooking pot over to the stream, Twi notices that his senses have levelled out without his notice. Perhaps it’s just that they do that from time to time— rarely, but it has occurred. 

Just to himself, he’ll almost admit that the soup is probably more likely to have been the thing that helped him even out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wild is communicating as clearly as he feels comfortable/knows how to. Certainly, he's not telling Twi that he, too, is bothered by certain textures or that he wants to help Twi avoid bad sensory experiences, but he's being very blunt and forthcoming about his goal: learn what textures Twi and the others like and dislike in their foods.  
> Also comfort foods are totally a thing that need to be talked about more to help address anxiety and emotional distress. I can't count how many times a bad day has gotten just a little bit better because i decided to treat myself to some french fries from the nearest food place. And because of the way my brain processes sensory experiences, I've been able to use taste/texture to help ground myself and redistribute my brain's sensory reception on bad sensory days. Not extremely, but usually enough to get to a quiet place and let myself even out. I don't know about anyone else, but being able to counter a sense that's at the extreme by conscientiously focusing on another sense has been one of my most useful techniques for sensory overload in situations where I'm stuck in one place.


	5. Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sky shares things that he loves in the hope that they'll help other people too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can probably tell approximately where the writer's block break is, since the voice changes, but the chapter that has been giving me grief for SO MANY MONTHS is FINALLY FINISHED so I'm tossing it in here anyway so I can move on.  
> I have an *outline,* guys, I'm trying to actually *stick to it.*  
> it's a weird sensation.  
> I thought I went to bed at 1 last night, but when I woke up at 7:30 this morning with my laptop on my chest the document said "Last edit 3 hours ago" and didn't have any obvious keysmashes? so i don't actually know... uh... how many hours of sleep this was written on. But my brother (my only beta reader) says it makes sense, and it's been torturing me since... *checks update date* ...April fourth?... oof....  
> so uh.... enjoy?

“Twi! Wild! What is this one called?”

Twilight looks up from where he’s sorting through his inventory, taking stock. Sky is bounding toward him, waving some new plant eagerly. He’s taken to doing this lately; finding a new plant that he likes the smell or the feel of and seeking out whoever knows the land best for more information about it.

Wild, beside Twilight, stands to meet Sky and intercept the eager knight and inspect his prize. 

“That’s electric safflina. If you cook it, it releases a kind of sap-stuff that helps with shock resistance when you eat it. It’s all over in the Gerudo desert.”

Sky grins and closes his eyes as he lifts the clipping to his nose and breathes deeply. 

“It smells like warm rain...” 

Wild nods solemnly, and now Twi is curious. In spite of having wandered this land previously at Wild’s side, he’d never really taken the time to explore the smells of all the various plants and spices the cub gathered and used. Now seems as good a time as any to change that; he stands and gestures when Sky opens his eyes, asking permission to smell for himself, and Sky complies, holding it out to him. Mimicking the younger Link’s actions, Twi closes his eyes and focuses in on the scent: it  _ is _ a little like warm rain, but there’s something ticklish in it too that makes his nose twitch like clothes-shocks. More than that, it’s not warm rain in the forest, or even the desert; it smells like warm rain in Ordon Village, sitting on one of the newly pitched roofs to enjoy the sprinkling leaned back with closed eyes.

Nodding the point to Sky, Twi opens his eyes and sighs, a little longing.

Wild is nodding, too. “Kind of funny, since it only grows where there’s usually no rain at all. The other kinds stick to their names.”

Sky spins toward Wild eagerly and Twi laughs a little to see the stars in his eyes. 

“Can you show me? Where do they grow?”

Wild pulls out his slate and conjures out a plant that looks similar to the yellow thing in Sky’s hands, though this one is blue. He hands it to Sky, who looks utterly delighted at the set in his hands as Wild switches quickly to the map function and zooms in on an area. 

“Here’s where we are, in the East Gerudo Ruins. It gets freezing at night out further in the desert, but right here it won’t get cold enough to grow cool safflina because the cliffs create a kind of pocket that holds a steadier temperature. Up here,” he moved the map up and to the left, “in the Gerudo Highlands is where you’ll mostly find cool safflina. It likes the freezing temperatures and grows through the snow, so it also grows up in Hebra and on Mount Lanayru.” 

Sky is looking eagerly between the map and the direction in which Wild had moved the map. They don’t have time or equipment to haul all nine of themselves up the cliffs around them and several days to the northwest, but if they did, Twi might be tempted to suggest that they do so just for the sake of the eager look in the Knight of Skyloft’s eyes at this moment. 

“It also grows out here,” Wild continues, dragging his map down and to the left as far as it can go, zooming in on a single blue marker, “because Tera’s magic lets it sprout, but that’s the exception.”

Sky eagerly lifts the plant to his nose and gasps with delight. He holds it out to Twi, who obligingly leans forward for a sniff himself. 

The Cool Safflina has a similar tingly bite to it, but this one smells less like clothes-shocks and more like a refreshing splash, a little akin to dewy grass in the shade. It’s nice, especially in their current climate. 

“What’s the other kind?”

Wild moves as if he’s looking for something, but they’re interrupted by Time’s call from over against the cliff face.

“Gate!”

They all turn. There is indeed a gate standing between two of the warriors there, and Time directs them in finishing packing up and getting on their way. The three of them disperse to their own tasks, but Twi takes note of Wild running off to collect something from somewhere else along the banks of sand surrounding the monument. 

He thinks of it again only once, as they’re setting up camp that evening on the Surface of Sky’s own era, when Wild approaches Sky and offers him something which he receives with an excited flail. Twi only smiles, content to be an observer of the delight the two of them share in getting to explore plants and herbs together.

After that, he genuinely doesn’t linger on it. He has a few moments of mild curiosity, but no more than usual where Wild and his miscelania of natural flavors, remedies, elixirs and such go. He doesn’t think on three kinds of safflina again until they’re trekking through a particularly difficult passage in the mountains of Four’s world, when the wind is biting deep into his cheeks and neck around his pelt and he’s struggling to plow his way at the head of their line through a drift so deep it reaches Wind’s armpits as the sailor passes behind him.Four himself is trying to help point the way they need to go, but his eyes are flashing dizzyingly and every time they come back to blue he slows down and gets less responsive.

Finally, Hyrule points out a cave in the rockface and they make their way in that direction to wait out the winds and falling snow. Four reaches full shutdown as they claw their way in and Twilight hauls him the rest of the way inside, feeling his hackles jumping at the strange behavior from the normally serene young man. His eyes are nearly glowing blue, no longer cycling colors, and there’s something impossibly frustrating about being unable to help in spite of the fact that he’s been right at Four’s side since they landed on this Light-forsaken mountain. There’s nothing he can think to do. Four has stopped responding entirely, and Twilight is cold, and tired, and hopeless, and half-terrified that a chilfos or freezard is going to jump out at them at any moment, and all he can do his wrap his pelt so that it can warm both Four and himself and pull the smaller man close as the world begins to fuzz around him.

Wild summons wood and tents it to let flame breathe before jabbing the flamespear he’s been wearing for the last several hours against the ground to get it to spurt enough to let his tinder catch. Watching blearily through graying awareness, Twilight remembers sitting with him and helping him remember how to stack the wood correctly so the flame wouldn’t smother, nudging and nosing and wishing desperately that he could just transform and show him the way Rusl had taught him when he was a boy, but being trapped and helpless as merely a summoned companion and not an adventurer in his own right. 

For some reason the memory makes him yearn suddenly and intensely to be  _ home, _ to sit at Rusl and Uli’s table and go out into the woods and show Colin how to blow horse grass, and if he didn’t already know he was overtired he certainly knows  _ now, _ because he’s honestly finding it hard not to cry and whimper like a little child at this very moment. 

And then out of the grayness fogging the sides of his vision and the sudden stuffiness clogging his ears there is Sky. Sky is bent before him, offering him something, and it takes his muddled, frozen head a moment to process what the young knight is saying.

“..’ll help. Just smell; it’s really nice, especially for this weather.”

Fuzzily, Twilight raises a numb hand to take the proffered thing and lifts it toward his nose as commanded. He sniffs.

It smells like warmth. Like the cedar smoke of Uli’s hearth and the quilt she made for him when he moved to the treehouse so he wouldn’t get lonely in the night. Like Wild’s hand, warmer than should be reasonable for one so small, grasping his and pulling him off to examine some new plant or panorama. Like Malon’s table, warm in the afternoon sunlight as they all gathered round to supper together. Somehow, it smells like  _ home. _

The fuzziness fades slightly, though not completely. At least now Twi is more aware as Sky tucks something of the same plant underneath Four’s chin to rest against his chest where Twi is still holding him. 

“What...” he manages through still-frozen lips, and Sky only smiles, bright as the noonday sun in spring. 

“Warm Safflina. I asked Wild for some; I thought it might help you both warm up.”

Too tired and cold still to do more than hum gratefully, Twi returns his own sprig to where he can breathe it in deeply. There’s something to the idea of smelling salts, he thinks, if they have the same kick that this stuff does to bring one back from the edge of oblivion.

As the fire begins to catch in earnest and the others begin to stir to greater life in its light and warmth, Twi finds himself grateful to Wild for being so prepared as always, and to Sky for sharing his collection. He knows it isn’t always easy when none of them quite seem to be able to grasp the significance of the smells Sky has gathered on their journey, but Twi is glad to have the Chosen Hero as a friend. 

It’s only a few moments before he and Four are dragged closer to the fire and forced to change out of their snow-soaked clothes, but Twi is immensely grateful for the grounding. Four seems to be benefitting from the Warm Safflina as well; his eyes are still blue, but there’s the beginnings of awareness stirring in them, and a peek of red at the corners that hopefully means he’ll be back with them soon. 

Twi needs to sleep. Before that Wild is going to make him eat, and they’re probably all going to end up piled together to stay warm through the night in spite of the fire, so he has a long night of Warriors’ restless legs inevitably finding his ribs and kneecaps to look forward to. But for now, he wraps his pelt around him by the fire, holding the Warm Safflina close and smelling home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sky is hard for me to write. I haven't played more than the tutorial in his game and have slightly bitter feelings toward the motion controls and stamina wheel that I need to get over. But I do like him as a character, and he seems to me to be inherently wholesome in a way a lot of characters actively aren't these days.  
> I'll try to come back and edit later to explain the thought process behind getting Twi out of meltdown mode like I have in the other chapters, but for now, I just got out of a week long migraine and need to remember how to be human, so we're going to leave this here.  
> I love all you lovely people, thank you all for being so patient with me. Your comments bring me life; I'm so glad you can relate to the nonsense I'm splattering across the pages; hopefully you're learning things that help you feel better about your selves and your own lives along the way.  
> Keep on, you beautiful beings.

**Author's Note:**

> A quick apology for any variance in tense; i used to write only in past, then went through a period of present-tense-only short stories, and now my writing tends to get a little confused every now and then. I've tried to catch all of the instances of accidental imperfect past slipping in, but I'm sure I've missed some. if anyone would be interested in betaing, t'would be much appreciated.
> 
> I do have the whole thing plotted and outlined. Chapters are short and sweet since I'm writing in between working in essential biomedical services, which means a lot of hours and not a lot of down time. Regardless, I hope someone can enjoy this as much as I've enjoyed writing it, and maybe if you can relate, you'll be able to find some satisfaction in seeing familiar feelings on the page like I have. 
> 
> thanks for reading :)


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